In early conventional sorters employed, for example, with laser printers and photocopiers, the sheets of paper representing the copies that are being delivered by the printing or copying machine are sorted in a sequential manner according to the arrangement of the paper-receiving trays. Conventionally the trays are moved sequentially past the exit plane of the machine and, after a sheet is deposited in each tray, the tray is moved to present the next tray in the sequence to the exit position of the machine.
More recently, sorters have been developed in which sorting occurs by employing stationarily mounted paper-receiving trays in conjunction with a deflectable upstream chute member which directs the successive sheets of paper sequentially from one tray to another. These sorters, referred to as "mailbox" sorters, an example of which is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,070 to Fred R. Langner, have employed paper chute mechanisms and indexing arrangements that heretofore have been inefficient and fragile, leading to operational failures of the sorter because of paper snags and the like.
The foregoing prior art forms of sorters are generally slow in operation, subject to frequent breakdown and have not lent themselves to random access sorting to facilitate the deposit of exiting sheets into the trays in other than a sequential manner.
It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved sorter in which the various paper trays of the sorter may be randomly accessed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved sorter in which the paper-receiving trays are stationarily arranged, and an improved pivotable deflector device is employed for directing the sheets of paper to a selected one of the trays.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved sorter which is sturdy in construction and reliable in operation.
Additional objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.